Where does the electricity go?

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I know this may sound like a juvenile question but I am curious where does the electricity go when you unplug an extension cord?

I have multiple thoughts....

a) there is no electricity in the cord and comes when there is a load present....(ie nothing there until you plug something in) and then it comes from the power lines.

b) There is electricity there but it discharges (I hope this is correct terminology) really fast when you unplug it. Say for instance, unplug a tool or vaccum in dark and you can sometimes see a spark coming from the outlet to the plug.

I know once it is unplugged there is no more electricity flowing into the plug. I think it has something to do with how electicity flows. For instance, you can catch water or air in a pipe. You can put a cap on the end and there is still water in the pipe. You cannot do that with electricity with a extension cord. You also not do it with light. (ie shine a light into a tube, collect it, look inside and see light. This leads me to think they are somewhat related, but I don't know how really. I know many of you engineer types probably covered this is you first class or something; so try and explain what's going on in an extension cord when you unplug it.

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[Raven 10+ year member]

This is an interesting question. In theory, there is a chance of there being the slightest amount of electricity left in a device after it's unplugged. Unless of course, there is something to consume it. If the device had a single component that stored or used electricity (Capacitor, resistor, electrical motor) the electricity would probably be consumed by those components immediately after their main source of power was removed.

If there was wire in it, the electricity would probably be immediately dissipated as heat. (There would be so little electricity left that you'd never be able to tell this is happening)

I guess my theory is that the extra electricity left in a device after it's unplugged is immediately consumed by the device in it's attempt to keep doing whatever it was doing while plugged in.

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

i dunno about AC, but with DC I have guys SWEAR the wire can 'hold' current...a la the 14 runs of 1/0 in DB ddrag cars.

if electricity is the transfer of electrons, then the extension cord 'pipe' is actually already loaded, it's just waiting to pass electrons along. No load=no transfer. i could be wrong. ASK! it.

 

[qtipextra 5,000+ posts]

Thats really hard to explain, but your first thought (a) would be correct. Sort of.

Explanation:

When you have an extension cord plugged in, with nothing plugged into it, then there becomes potential difference between the wires (voltage) at the end of the conductor (the wire). This means that electrons want to go from the negative to positive (and of course, with AC, positve and negative switches 60 times per second). With nothing plugged in, they cannot do that, so you don't have any current.

When you have something plugged in at the end of the extension cord (whether it be a wire connecting the 2 wires [short] or an actual component) it will pull current from the source, (For explanation purposes only, this would the transformer [and in reality it is your power company, but it has more thrown into the equation with transformers]). So it doesn't really go anywhere. When you unplug something, the electrons are just "sitting" there.

To get electricity, you move electrons. That's what the power company that supplies your power does. When you hook up a conductor to the line of moving electrons, you will add to their line of where the electrons go. If you suddenly dissconnect that line, then they are just sitting there until you hook it back into the line of moving electrons.

Hope that explains it a little bit

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

a mostly right

b - the spark u see is just the electricity connecting to the plug,

 

[qtipextra 5,000+ posts]

b - the spark u see is just the electricity connecting to the plug,

Exactly.

As for it being stored in a component (whatever you have plugged in)

This is best explained by what Raven had said:

I guess my theory is that the extra electricity left in a device after it's unplugged is immediately consumed by the device in it's attempt to keep doing whatever it was doing while plugged in.

There is a little bit stored in what you plugged in, but that stored energy is dissipated (consumed) immedietly due to tyring to stay on.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

stick a paperclip in an outlet and you'll also see that spark //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

electricity is lazy //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Thats really hard to explain, but your first thought (a) would be correct. Sort of.

Explanation:

When you have an extension cord plugged in, with nothing plugged into it, then there becomes potential difference between the wires (voltage) at the end of the conductor (the wire). This means that electrons want to go from the negative to positive (and of course, with AC, positve and negative switches 60 times per second). With nothing plugged in, they cannot do that, so you don't have any current.

When you have something plugged in at the end of the extension cord (whether it be a wire connecting the 2 wires [short] or an actual component) it will pull current from the source, (For explanation purposes only, this would the transformer [and in reality it is your power company, but it has more thrown into the equation with transformers]). So it doesn't really go anywhere. When you unplug something, the electrons are just "sitting" there.

To get electricity, you move electrons. That's what the power company that supplies your power does. When you hook up a conductor to the line of moving electrons, you will add to their line of where the electrons go. If you suddenly dissconnect that line, then they are just sitting there until you hook it back into the line of moving electrons.

Hope that explains it a little bit

I understand that pretty good. I was thinking wire is something that holds electricity, like a pipe. I didn't think about the electrons in the wire. So wire is more like train tracks than a pipe.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

static electricity the electrons stay in one place also, i noticed that whenever i had static electricity with my blankets that just came out of the dryer. was quite the light show

 

[qtipextra 5,000+ posts]

I understand that pretty good. I was thinking wire is something that holds electricity, like a pipe. I didn't think about the electrons in the wire. So wire is more like train tracks than a pipe.

Yes. It's a direction for it to flow.

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

i guess this would be an appropriate topic to ask a question i've always wondered as well.....

ok so lets say i have a cube made out of 6 mirrors facing the inside of the box. If I "open" the cube by sliding a mirror a little bit, and shine a light inside, then hurry up and close the cube while the light is still be directed into the cube, is the light trapped inside? If I go into a pitch black room and shatter the cube, will i see a flash of light real quick? or does the energy of the light disappear too quickly?

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

too lazy to read the thread, but heres my thought: The extension cord itself won't hold a charge when plugged in unless there's a load to complete the circuit. But then again, I don't know much about that kinda stuff.

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

too lazy to read the thread, but heres my thought: The extension cord itself won't hold a charge when plugged in unless there's a load to complete the circuit. But then again, I don't know much about that kinda stuff.

what happened to all your posts

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

mods jacked them while I wasn't looking //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/sneaky.gif.7189749b3a3f769e8815b47e8ae87f88.gif